Third time is the charm!

Years ago, shortly after I started sewing, I saw some silky print fabric on sale. It was white with red and blue polka dots, and I thought it would be perfect for some amazing pajama pants. However, when it got home, it was put in a fabric drawer, forgotten and lived there for many years. I recently discovered it again and, being a little more ambitious now, I decided to make something a little more interesting than pants. There were two vintage dress patterns in my stash that I had been dying to use and the polka dot fabric would add the perfect touch! As I started to cut the material for the first one, I realized that the dress would require a stiffer fabric to get the right look, since I only cut a few pieces, I was able to re-cut those same pieces to fit another pattern. I finally got everything cut and was happily sewing away. I was almost done with the dress by the end of the day when I noticed that it wasn't turning out like it should. I thought it was just that it was late and I was tired so I wasn't thinking straight. But when I got up in the morning, it was a mess. after going over every seam, I finally realized that :
1. It was indeed very messed up
and
2. I couldn't so anything to fix it because it was the fabrics fault. (it didn't have the stretch it needed for some parts.)
I was so frustrated I ripped all the seams open and sat there looking at the pieces that were now scattered all over my sewing room. I finally decided to try and turn those odd pattern pieces into a dress that I would design myself. The most important thing I learned while working on my new dress, is that it is very, very hard to fit a dress without a dress form. I would put it on stand in front of a mirror and try to pin it to fit! I got so many pins poked into me during that time! But it finally all came together.

I just did a simple V in the back.

The skirt is excellent for twirling!

See how much fabric is in the twirly skirt?!

This angle kinda throws off the proportions a bit, but you can see the front of the bodice. I made it not so fitted because the fabric is uncomfortable to wear if it's super fitted and sticks to you if it is warm out. Considering that it is a summer dress, it will most likely be rather warm when I wear it, so the loose bodice works nicely. I also added a little red belt to the dress.